The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1887-07-21
our WASHINGTON LETTER

special Correspondence OF the NEWS.
WASHINGTON, D. c., July 20, 1sS7.-
Matters both local and national have
been quiet at the capitol this past week.
Nothing has transpiyed to relieve the
monotony of the heated spell except
the sadness cast over the city by the
assassination in broad day of one of
the most prominent men in business
and social life at the capital. Joseph
G. G.. Kennedy, a real estate agent and
attorney for the national banks, was
murdered in cold blood after leaving
his Office for home on the afternoon of
Thursday. The murderer was a crank
just discharged the day before from
the work house, and who held an inn
aginary grievance against his victim.
The instrument used was case knife,
which, without a moments warning,
and just after the victim had deposited
his letters into the mail box, was thrust
with deadly effect into the abdomen of
| the aged and esteemed citizen, and
| caused death few minutes afterward.
/ Mr.. Kennedy'S Office has been the re-
sort of public men from every state in
| the union for thirty years past for both
business and social intercourse, and
the death of no other citizen of the
community would cast gloom over
such a wide eXpanSe of territory.
The presidents departure from the
city without making an appointment of
postmaster in place of COnger whose
commission has expired has left the
many aspiraDtS for the lucrative berth
in a state of uncertainty and uneasi-
ness exceedingly enervating and pros
trating when supplemented by the in
tensely hot weather we are now hav-
ing. The salary is $1,000, and the half
dozen district men who have been
working to get the place are afraid that
the delay is dangerous and that it
means the appointment of an outsider
to the position. The last three APP
pointees holding the position and
dating back some fifteen years have
been from the state of Michigan, and
it is asserted that the postmaster gen.
eral and Don Dickerson, the democrat
ic boss of the Wolverine state are press
ing the claims of Finstein of Detroit
for the place. Considerable feeling has
been worked up over the appointment
and if it goes to a nonresident the re-
lations between the president and the
people of the district will be further es-
tranged than ever.
The bell telephone people have won
/
/, The motion of Gray, the rival claim
ant, to allow him to amend his old APP
plication by inserting the word metal
lic'' before the word diaphragm" sc
as to form a basis for claim to the me-
tallic diaphragm used in the telephones,
has been denied by the primary exam
liner before whom the motion was az
gued. An appeal will be taken to the
commissioner in person and then to the
| a
was argued by COnkling in behalf of
Gray and by Storrow for the bell peO-
pie. The motion was denied on the
ground that it had already been decided
in an interference proceeding between
the same parties and that Gray then
abandoned it. So far the bell people
have been successful at every stage of
the case in the patent Office.
Prof w. Il. HOrnaday, the chief Tax
idermist of the National Museum has
completed his work of mounting for the
museum eleven of the twenty six
buffalos secured by him during his re-
cent western trip. The animals range
in size from an enormous bull measm
ing 8 feet 6 inches in height, which is
the largest buffalo ever known to have
been killed upon the prairieS,
three feet in height. After the work
of preparing the specimens was COM
pleted, the entire heard were grouped
in the park adjoining the museum and
large photographs taken of it..
Professor Hornaday with the corps of
assistants who accompanied him on
the hunting expedition each clothed
in the hunting outfit of the prairies,
appear in the foreground of the picture,
and so lifelike are the posture of the
animals and SO naturel their surround
ings that it would be difficult to coz
vince one that the scene was not in
reality taken on the prairies and the
animals alive instead of mounted
specimens. The remainder of the
twenty six specimens will be sent to
museums in various countries in ex-
change for other exhibits for the
museum. The western trip alluded to
was made for the express purpose of
getting specimens of the buffalo for
preservation as the race is fast disap-
pearing from the plains of our country.